Take-out mechanism



April 23, 1940- F. L. o. WADSWORTH TAKE -OUT MECHANI SM Original FiledJan. 18, 1935 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 23, 1940- F. L. o. WADSWORTHTAKE-OUT MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original 11/0 ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 23, 1940 UNITED STATES rrcrrzrrr OFFICE TAKE-OUTMECHAl\TISM Frank L; 0. Wadsworth, deceased, late of Pittsburgh, Pa., byMildred M. Wadsworth, administratrix, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to BallBrothers Company, Muncie,

v of Indiana Ind., a corporation Original application January 18. 1935,Serial No. 2,361. Divided and this application May 29,

1937, Serial No. 145,450

12 Claims. (Cl. 1981;29)

into an open or partially opened blow mold, en-

gage the blown article contained therein and when the mold is completelyopened to remove the article therefrom and deposit it on a mov ingconveyor which will carry it to an annealing lehr.

This and other objects of this invention which will'be madeappar'ent tothose skilled in the art are accomplished by means of this invention,one embodiment of whichis described in the following specificationand-illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein Figure 1 is a topplan view of a forming 'm-a-,

chine equipped with mechanism; I n

Fig. 2 is' a developed elevation of a portion of the take-out mechanismadjacent the curvilinear plane IIII of Fig. 1 with the subjacent partsprojected on the flat plane IIaIIa.of the same figure;

Fig. 3 is an'enlarged front .view (partly in section) of one of theelements of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2; 1 r

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section on the plane IVIV of Fig. .2 andillustrates another element of this mechanism;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view on the plane V-V of Fig. 3;and

Figs. 6 and 7 are transverse sectionaljviews of another portion of thedelivery apparatus.

the improved take-out Referring to the drawings indetail. Ill representsthe press mold table of a forming machine which is provided with aseries of press molds ll arranged in twotiers or decks thereon intowhich charges of molten glass adapted to be formed into articles aredelivered by a suitable mechanism. The glass charges so delivered to thepress molds H are pre-shaped by a suitable plunger mechanism (not shown)into pari table I3 which surrounds the press mold table Hi and isarranged eccentrically thereto; The blow mold table I3 is provided withan annular internal gear M which meshes with an external gear on thepress mold tab-leilO and the two tables' (l0-|3) are driven at the sameperipheral speed through a vertical drive shaft l5 which is provided atits upper end with a worm gear l6 that meshes with a worm H on ahorizontal shaft H8. The shaft I8 is also provided with a gear [9 thatmeshes with a pinion 20 on the shaft of the motor 2]. Themotor 2i andshaft iii are supported on a head frame 22 which is mounted on uprightposts 23 forming the side posts of the machine. The parisons deliveredto the blow molds, are blown to finished form and the blown or finishedarticles are removed from the blow molds as said molds are opened in theusual manner bya take-out mechanism 25 which positions the articles onthe conveyor of a lehr where. the articles are annealed.

The take-out mechanism 25 includes two sprocket chains- 26-26a which arevertically spaced and which cooperate in carrying a plurality oftake-offdevices 21-210,. Each chain meshes with and is in efiect carriedby a pair of cooperating sprocket wheels 2829 which are mounted onvertical shafts 3ll--t|v that are journaled in suitable bearings carriedby the machine-frame. The sprocket. shaft 30 is driven from the motor2|v through the driven shaft l8 which is provided with a worm 32 thatmeshes witha worm wheel 33 secured to the upper end of the shaft .30.The gearing between the shaft 18 and the shaft 15 for driving the moldtables is such that the linearmovement of these sprocket chains (2626a)is the same as the peripheral speed of the centers of the mold units li-I2, that is the chains move through a distance equal to thecircumferential spacing between two blow molds for each revolution ofthe shaft l5.

wheels each chain 2626a moves in. a substantially horizontal. path, aguard 3535a is also preferably employed in connection with each chainand, as shown in Fig. 1, these guards are so shaped as to cause theportions of the chains leaving the driving sprockets 28-28 and movingtoward the sprockets 29--29 to follow anarcshaped path whose center ofcurvature is coincident with the center of revolution of the blow moldtable l3. The guards for both'chains may also be so formed as to assistin preventing any sagging of the chains between their sprocket supports.

Each take-off device 2'! and 21a is secured to and carried by bothchains 25-26a and all of these devices are therefore constrained to movein parallel relationship with each other as they travel with the chains.There are two sets of these devices; one 21 for engaging and removingblown articles from the blow mold units l2 carried on the upper deck ofthe table l3 and the other 21a for performing that function inconnection with the blow mold units |2 carried on the lower deck of thetable |3-the devices of one set being alternately arranged with those ofthe other set. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, each take-off member 21is carried by a tubular sleeve 48, which extends vertically between thetwo chains 262Ga-with its upper end secured to a link of the upper chainand its lower end correspondingly secured to a link of the lowerchain-and which serves as a guide for a longitudinally reciprocable rod4|. As best shown in Fig. 6, the lower end of each rod 4| carries a pairof article engaging fingers 42, which are pivotally connected thereto bya fulcrum pin 43, and which are also connected by the links 44 to asliding collar 45 on the rod 4|. A coil spring 46 is attached at one endto the collar 45 and at the other to a pin 4'! rigidly secured to therod 4| (Fig. '7) and is adapted to yieldingly pull the collar downwardlyand thus move the fingers 42-42 to an expanded position, shown in Fig.6;-it being understood that this expansion movement may be limited byany suitable stop elements on therod or on the fingers. Each collar 45is provided with a laterally offset roller 48 which is adapted to engagea short stationary section of cam track 49 (Fig. 2), for the purpose ofholding up the collar element 45, and thus collapsing the finger 42-42when the rods 4| and the parts carried thereby are moved downwardly toengage a blown article. The longitudinal movement and the longitudinalpositioning of each rod 4| is accomplished by a continuous cam track 50that is parallel with the path of travel of the chains 26-25a and isadapted to be engaged by rollers 5| which are carried by an outer sleeveelement 53 (one on each of the tubular members 40) and are perativelycoupled to the rods 4| by the journal pins 52 that project throughlongitudinal slots in the sides of the tubular guide member 40.

The continuous cam track 50 is of such form that as each take-off deviceis moved into registry with the path of travel of the blow molds l2-bythe guiding action of the revolving sprocket wheel 28 and the guard35-the' rod 4| is permitted'to drop, under the action of gravity, andallow the article engaging fingers 42-42 to enterthe open mouth of theblown article carried by the correspondingly positioned blow mold unit.This downward movement is permitted by the downwardly inclined portion50a of the cam track 50.

In order that the article engaging fingers 42-42 may be positivelyretracted or collapsed prior to their entering the open mouth of theblown article, the downward movement of the collar 45 (on the downwardmovement of the rod 4|), as above set forth, is checked by the short camsector 49 just before the associated rod 4| reaches its lowermostposition;-i. e., just bev fore the supporting cam roller reaches the ofits downward movement, the associated cam roller 48 rides off the end ofthe cam track 49 and releases the collar 45, thus permitting the spring46 to draw the parts 45 and 4'! toward each other thereby expanding thefingers 42-42. The next increment of forward movement causes the camroller 5| to engage with the upwardly inclined leg 50b of the track 50thus lifting the associated rod 4| and bringing the expanded fingers42-42 into engagement with the shoulders of the blown article, asclearly shown in Figs. 2 and 6.

The continued advance of the cam roller 5| along the cam track section50b-and the resultant upward movement of the rod 4l-lifts the blownarticle from the mold table l3 and carries it up to a level above thetop plate of that table, after which it is moved laterally outward-(bythe passage of'the chains 26-26a, around the periphery of the sprocketwheels 29-2911) until it is suspended above a suitable conveyor track(not shown) that leads to the annealing lehr. As the article approachesthis last described position the cam roller 5| starts to move along asecond downwardly inclined leg 50c of the track 5|] thus again loweringthe associated rod 4|. Immediately prior to the time that each roller 5|arrives at the lowest point on the leg 500, the collar roller 48 engagesthe end of another cam track 55 thus arresting the downward movement ofthe collar at the time of engagement of the bottom of the blown articlewith the lehr conveyor. As the rod 4| and its associated parts continuetheir descent the fingers 42-42 are disengaged from the shoulders of theblown article and collapsed. The roller 48 then rides upwardly on track55 and thereby lifts the rod 4| and its associated parts-with thefingers 42-42 in their collapsed position-until they clear the top ofthe previously engaged article; after which the roller 5| is againengaged with the horizontal portion of the track 5|] and is moved alongit to the beginning of the downwardly inclined section 50a. Thiscompletes the cycle of movement of any one of the take-off devices 21.

It should be understood that the lehr conveyor is driven at a linearspeed which is approximately equal to that of the travel of the chains26-26(1. and that the retraced fingers 42-42 may therefore be withdrawnfrom the mouth of the article as the latter is moving with the conveyorwithout any material lateral displacement of the take-oil parts withrespect thereto. The path of travel of the take-01f devices, around theguiding sprocket wheels 28-28a and 29-2911.

preferably at one point is substantially tangent to the line of movementof the lehr conveyor; and the positioning of the cam track sections 500and 55 is preferably such that the suspended article is lowered onto theconveyor and released from the grip of the fingers 42-42 at or near thispoint. But it is also obvious that the collapsing of these fingers, andtheir withdrawal from the mouth .of the article, is accomplished in avery short interval of time; and, consequently, considerable variationbetween the paths of travel of the take-off devices and of the releasedarticles will not, therefore, interfere with the above describedoperation if it is accomplished with reasonable dispatch.

The removal of the blown articles from the mold units l2 on the lowerdeck of the table I3 is as previously stated effected by means of thetake-up devices 21a. These devices are similar arteries in allsubstantial particulars to the device illustrated in Figs. 4,6 and '7(as above described), except that provision is made for magnifying thelongitudinal movement of the rods 60 (which carry the devices 21a) inthe guide sleeves 6| as the cam roller 62 rides down and up on inclinedlegs 56a and b of the track 5|). This is accomplished by omittingthetrunnion connection 52 between the associated roller and sleeveelements51-53 and the-cooperating rod-4| (as previously described) andsubstituting" therefor a double fall chain and pulley connection 63-64.As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the cam roller -62 is in this case rotatablymounted on a block 65 which is secured to a sleeve 66 and. whichalsocarries the'pulley 63. The chain 64 which passes over the pulley 63 isattached at one end to a bent arm Bl that is secured to the rod 60- andprojects outward through superimposed slots in the sides of the sleeveelements GI and 66; and is elastically connected at its opposite end tothe lower conveyor chain 26a by meansof a tension spring 68. This springis primarily employed for the purpose of preventing slack in the chainwhen the rod 60 is lowered. It will be understood that the cam roller 62of each take-off device an: is operatively connected to the associatedrod 68 only through the agency of the chain and pulley and that,therefore, any up or down movement ofthis rolleras occasioned byvariations in the contour of the'cam track llllwill produce a movementof the rod which is twice that of the roller.v .This motion multiplyingdevice therefore permits a singlecam track to be employed for actuatingboth sets of takeoil devices although the one set must'have a muchlarger vertical lift than the othcr- -because of the greater height towhich the articles in the lower tier of blow molds must be lifted.

In order to effect a positive and definite upward movement of therodsGil of the take-off devices 21a, the upper ends of the take-upsprings 68 are attached to shouldered pins 59 which pass loosely throughlaterally projecting lugs 19 on the sides of the associated guidesleeves 5i and thereby afiord vertically fixed points of attachment forone end of the chain 68 when the connected cam roller and pulleyelements 62 and 63 are lifted.

When the cam rollers 62 of this lower set of take-oil devices 21a (thearticle engaging elements of which are identical with the devices 2?)pass onto the downwardly inclined section 580 of the cam track 5E3, theassociated rods 68 are lowered until the rollers 48 engage the horizontal entry part of the cam track section a; after which the furtherdownward movement of the connected elements 62 and 63 is taken up by thesprings 68 (as shown at the left of Fig. 2). But the articles carried bythe take-off devices 2111 still remain suspended therefrom until theyare engaged by the lehr conveyor because the springs 46 are insufiicientto collapse the fingers 4242 as long as they are subjected to theunsupported weight of the suspended article, and the latter is thereforereleased to the conveyor at substantially the same point as that atwhich the articles are delivered thereto from the upper set of take-offdevices 21.

It should be further noted that the cam track section 49a which servesto collapse the fingers 42 42 at the time the take-off devices 21a areengaged with the articles in the lower tier of blow molds must bepositioned at a lower level than the section 49 and that the tracksection sad-winch effects the" disengagement ur ne lower take-0e devicesfrom the articles afterthe latter are delivered to the conveyor''must beof different form than the section 55 (in order that .the upwardmovement of the cooperating rods 'ollmaybe commensurate with thatof theassociated roller and pulley elements 62 and63) and for these reasonsthe rollers 48 (of the lower take-out devices- 2111') and thetracksections 49a and 55a with which they engage are-positioned on the rear,or inner, side of' the conveyor;

chains-(the sections 49a being in this case attached .to the revolvingtable l3)instead ofon the outer side. a I

With the exception of the detail differences above noted the operationofthe lower'set of take-off devices 21a, in removing-the blown articlesfrom the bottom tier of blow molds l2a is essentially the same as theoperation of the other set 21 in taking away the articles from the upperbank of molds l2. All of these articles are delivered to the lehrconveyor in regular sequence at uniformly spaced intervals,corresponding to those'between the centers of the molds 25 rapidity withwhich successive articles are car- '30 ried to the annealing lehr. v

It should be apparent that the characteristic features of this inventionmay be utilized in whole or in part and that when the take-out mechanismis to be used with a single deck table the devices 21a are replaced withdevices similar to'21. While the improved take-out mechanism has beenshown in connection with a two-table machine'in which the tables areeccentrically positioned, it is obvious that the invention may beutilized with any type of forming machine, for example, machine in whichthe press mold table is mounted exteriorly of the blow mold tableinstead of inside of it and that various other changes in the form andarrangement of the cooperating partsfmay be made without departingfromthe spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

H What is claimed as new anddesired to be s'ecured by Letters Patent is;

1. A take-out mechanism comprising a pair of vertically spaced endlessconveyors, fixedvertical guide sleeves carried by said conveyors, a rodreciprocably mounted within each of said sleeves, article engagingfingers pivoted to each such rod, means for. reciprocating said rodsduring the movementof said conveyors and means for collapsing andexpanding said article engaging fingers in timed relation to themovement of said rod.

2. In apparatus for use in transferring articles from a glassfabricating machine to aposition removed therefrom, vertically spacedcontinuously moving conveyors, spaced vertically extending sleevescarried by said conveyors, a rod mounted for reciprocation within eachof said sleeves,

means for raising and lowering said rods relative to said sleeves, anarticle engaging device carried by each rod and stationary means foractuating said devices upon the up and down movements of said rods.

3. Apparatus of the character described comprising an endless conveyormoving continuously in a closed path, a vertical guide sleeve carried bysaid conveyor, a rod slidably mounted within said guide sleeve,collapsible article engaging fingerspivoted to one 'end of said-rod;means for reciprocating said rod, and cam controlled means forcollapsing and expanding said fingers as said rod is reciprocated.

4. Apparatus of the character described comprising an endlesscontinuously moving conveyor, a vertically extending guide sleevecarried by said conveyor, a rod slidably mounted within said sleeve, aroller secured to said rod, a cam track on which said roller rides,article engaging fingers pivoted to said rod, and means for collapsingand expanding said fingers.

5. Apparatus of the character described comprising an endlesscontinuously moving conveyor, a guide sleeve carried by said conveyor, arod movably mounted in said guide sleeve, article engaging fingerscarried by said rod, a member slidably mounted on said guide sleeve,means for moving said member relative to said guide sleeve, and meansassociated with said member on movement thereof for reciprocating saidrod.

6. Apparatus of the character described comprising an endlesscontinuously moving conveyor, a guide sleeve carried by said conveyor, arod movably mounted in said guide sleeve, article engaging fingerscarried by saidrod, a member slidably mounted on said guide sleeve,means for moving said member relative to said guide sleeve, and meansfor moving said rod in response to the movement of said member butthrough greater distances than said member.

'7. Ina take-out and transfer mechanism, an endless-conveyor movable ina horizontal closed path, a vertically extending guide sleeve carried bysaid conveyor, a rod reciprocably mounted in said sleeve, pivotedarticle engaging fingers adjacent the lower end of said rod, means fornormally holding said fingers'in expanded position, means forreciprocating said rod, and means for collapsing said fingers as saidrod is reciprocated.

8. In a take-out and transfer mechanism, two vertically spaced endlesscarriers movable in a horizontal closed path, a series of verticallyextending guide sleeves bridging the space between said carrier's andconnected thereto, a .rod reciprocably mounted in each of said sleeves,article engaging fingers carried by each such rod, means forreciprocating said rods and means for collapsing and expanding saidfingers as said rods are reciprocated.

9.- In -a take-out and transfermechanism, ver tically spaced endlesscarriers movable in a horizontal closed path, a series of verticallyextending guide sleeves spanning the space between said carriers andconnected thereto, a rod reciprocably mounted in each sleeve,collapsible article engaging fingers adjacent the lower end of each rod,means for yieldably holding said fingers in expanded position, means forsuccessively imparting up and down movement to said rods, and means forcollapsing said fingers as said rods are moved downwardly.

10. In a take-out and transfer mechanism, vertically spaced endlesscarriers movable in a horizontal closed path, a series of guide sleevesconnected at their ends to said carriers, a rod reciprocably mounted ineach guide sleeve, article engaging fingers pivoted adjacent the lowerend of each rod, means for yieldingly holding said fingers in articleengaging position, and a roller associated with each rod means includinga cam track for imparting reciprocatory movement to said rods, and meansfor collapsing said fingers.

11. In a transfer mechanism, a pair of vertically spaced endlessconveyors moving continuously in a closed path, a series of equallyspaced vertical guide sleeves carried by said conveyor's, a rodslidably. mounted within each of said guide sleeves, collapsible articleengaging fingers pivoted adjacent the lower end of each of said rods,means for successively reciprocating said rods and stationary means forcollapsing and expanding said fingers as said rods are reciprocated.

12. In a transfer mechanism, a pair of vertically spaced endlessconveyors, means for moving said conveyors in closed parallel paths, aseries of vertically extending guide sleeves bridging said conveyors, arod slidably mounted within each such sleeve, a roller secured to eachrod, a cam track for each of said rollers, article engaging fingerspivoted to said rods adjacent their lower ends and stationary means forcollapsing and expanding said fingers.

NHLDRED M. WADSWORTI-I. Administratria: of the Estate of Frank L. O.

Wadsworth, Deceased.

